US2844266A - Receptacle closure - Google Patents

Description

July 22 1958 G. D. HOFE 2,844,266

RECEPTACLE CLOSURE Filed April 1, 1955 IN VEN TOR. @5052? M61148 fibff United States PatentO The present invention relates to closures for jars,

bottles or the like and, more particularly, to-a closure for the dispensing opening thereof after the sealing closurev has been removed.

A great number of products, which are used frequently and will not spoil if exposed to the atmosphere for a reasonable time in the course of their consumption, are packed in bottles or jars that are sealed. by means'of a screw closure. Consequently, the consumer must'un-. screw the closure and reapply the same each time the product is used. These operations are time consuming and annoying, particularly where several persons use the same package and certain persons apply the closure so tightly that the others cannot readily remove the same. Also, in the handling of the closure it is frequently dropped requiring getting down on the floor to search for the same. This may result in injury, if the searcher arises suddenly while partly under a sink, basin, table. or the like, .it being well known that the lost bottle top is the cause of a great number of household accidents.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is; to eliminate the foregoing difficulties by providing a closure for the dispensing opening of such bottles and jars which closure is utilized after the sealing closure has been removed.

Another object is to provide such a closure which is simple and economical in construction and which is readily manipulated to unclose and close the opening.

A further object is to provide such a closure which lends itself to use in connection with bottles and jars having dispensing openings of a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

Other and further objects will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top view of a bottle having a closure in accordance with the present invention attached thereto;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the bottle shown in Fig. l, partly in section;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 3-3 on Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. 3, illustrating another embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the closure shown in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view, illustrating still another embodiment of the invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawing in detail, a package is shown which comprises a receptacle 10 formed with a shoulder 11 and a neck 12 which terminates in a lip or rim 14 and which defines the dispensing opening of the receptacle, and a closure in accordance with the The neck 12 is formed with screw threads 15 at the ex terior thereof for the reception of a screw cap forsealing the receptacle before the contents are to be consumed. x This cap is not shown because it has already beenre moved to illustrate the package in its condition during-the consumption of its contents. The receptacle imay be a bottle or jar or other form of container constructed of glass, metal or suitable synthetic plastic material.

The closure for the dispensing opening which serves-to close the same during the consumption of the contents,

generally comprises a disc16 and means 17 for many mounting the disc across the dispensing opening. p 1

Such means, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, maybe a'clip which is generally in the form of aninverted U and has a pair of depending legs 19 and a horizontalportion '20. The legs are shaped to conform-to. the neck and shoulder of the receptacle andengage the. inner wall thereof to attach the clip thereto. The con-j connecting the legs.

necting portion provides a pin-likeelement extending substantially diametrically across the dispensing opening and extends through aperture means of the disc to tiltably support the same. The clip may be formed of stiff wire, whereby the legs are spring-urged againstthe' receptacle Wall. 1

As shown more particularly in Fig. 1, the disc '16ihasi. a semi-circular section 21 of anarea adapted to fit into the dispensing opening and has a semi-circular section;

22 of greater area adapted to overlie the rim 14 of the receptacle. The pin-like portion extends through, an aperture 24 in the disc adjacent the junction ofthesection's' Hand 22., 1

If desired, the disc may be provided with means for. normally retaining the same in a position to close'the opening, such as a friction element, herein illustrated as.

Y a spring tab 25 on the underside of the disc section adapted to engage the inner wall of the receptacle neck adjacent the rim.

In order to maintain the disc in a position to unclose the opening when the tab 25 is out of engagement with the receptacle and to thereby enable the contents to be withdrawn from the receptacle, the disc section 21 is of greater mass than the section 22, whereby the disc is unbalanced with the section 21 extending into the receptacle neck, as shown in Fig. 3. This may be accomplished by making the section 21 suificiently thicker than the section 22 to outweigh the latter.

In Figs. 4 and 5, another form of disc mounting means 17a is shown which is particularly useful because it can be attached directly in the neck of the receptacle near the rim without relying on the receptacle shoulder contour to affix the same. Such means comprise a ring 26 which is fitted into the receptacle neck, and a pin 20a extending through the disc aperture 24 and having its ends seated in substantially diametrically opposite openings 27 in the ring. The ring may be continuous, or may be split at 28 in order to be spring-urged against the neck wall, whereby the ring need not conform exactly to the inner neck wall but may be slightly over-sized to force fit the same therein.

In the foregoing embodiment, the disc section 21 is adapted to extend into the ring 26 and the disc section 22 is adapted to overlie the ring as well as the receptacle rim (Fig. 4).

In Fig. 6, the inner wall of the receptacle neck 12, near the rim 14, is formed with recess means, such as an annular groove 30, and a substantially semi-circular clip 31 is biased in this groove. The clip has a diametrically extending section 32 for tiltably mounting the disc 16. The clip receiving recess means could likewise be provided by a pair of small continuous or interrupted annu- Patented July 22, 19 58 3 .1 vention for the opening about to be described in detailL L. lar beads or ribs spaced apart to provide the equivalent of the groove 30.

From the foregoing description, it will be understood that the present invention. provides a simple, practical and economical dispensing closure which eliminates the necessity of frequentapplication and removal of a screw closure. In the event the receptacle is to be taken on a trip, the screw closure may be reapplied. It will also be understood that the dispensing closure could be inserted.

departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and Without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matters are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A closure for a receptacle having a dispensing opening comprising clip means adapted to engage the inner Wall of the receptacle including a pin-like element adapted to extend across the opening, said clip means being an inverted, generally U-shaped member having a pair of legs conforming to the portion of the receptacle wall engaged thereby and being interconnected by said pinlike element, and a disc tiltably mounted on said element serving as a closure for the opening upon attachment of said clip means to the receptacle.

2- A closure according to claim 1, including means for normally retaining said disc in a position to close the opening.

3. A closureaccording to claim 2, wherein said re taining means is a friction element on the underside of 4. A closure according to claim 1, wherein the mass of said disc at one side of said element is greater than the mass of said disc at the other-side of said element to cause said disc to tilt and unclose the opening.

5. A closure according to claim 4, wherein the side of greater mass is of an area to fi't into the opening and the side of lesser mass is of an area to overlie the rim of the receptacle wall defining the opening.

6. A closure according to claim 5, wherein the underside of said disc has a friction element at the side of lesser mass.

7. A closure according to claim 1, wherein said disc at one side of said element is of an area to fit-into the opening and said disc .at the other side of said element is of an area to overlie the rim of the receptacle wall defining the opening.

8. A closure according to claim 1, wherein the receptacle opening is substantially circular and said disc isgenerally circular.

9. A closure according to claim 8, wherein said disc has a semi-circular section at one side of said element adapted to fit into the opening and has a semi-circular section at .the other side'of said element adapted to overlie the rim of the receptacle wall defining the opening.

10. A closure according to claim 9, wherein the first mentioned section has a greater mass than said last mentioned section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 277,718 Hart May 15, 1883 1,154,973 Chenette Sept. 28, 1915 1,420,391 Sweet June 20, 1922 1,840,673 Jenkins Jan.12, 1932 1,890,194 Punte Dec. 6, 1932 1,894,575 Sherman Ian. 17, 1933 1,976,720 Engels Oct. 16, 1934 2,497,827 Trafton Feb. 14, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No, 2,844,266 July 22, 1958 George Douglas Hofe It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected belowo In the grant, line 3 and in the heading to the printed specifi cation, line 3, address of inventor, for "East Orange" read South Orange Signed and sealed this 14th day of October 1958.,

(SEAL) Attest:

KARL AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

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